Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

John Amherst (1718 – 14 February 1778) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer served during the

First Carnatic War The First Carnatic War (1744/1746–1748) was the Indian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession and the first of a series of Carnatic Wars that established early British dominance on the east coast of the Indian subcontinent. In this co ...

and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, and who went on to be

Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth The Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. Plymouth Command was a name given to the units, establishments, and staff operating under the admiral's command. Between 1845 and 1896, this offi ...

Family

He was the fourth son of lawyer Jeffrey Amherst and Elizabeth Kerrill, of

Riverhead, Kent Riverhead is a northern village part of the urban area of Sevenoaks in the district of the same name in Kent, England and is also a civil parish. The parish had a population in 2001 of 1821, increasing to 2,634 at the 2011 Census. The parish ...

, and his older brothers included Field Marshal

Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, (29 January 1717 – 3 August 1797) was a British Army officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the British Army. Amherst is credited as the architect of Britain's successful campaig ...

, and Lieutenant-General William Amherst.

Naval career

Amherst joined the

in 1730, and after serving as

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

and

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

under the command of Admirals

Nicholas Haddock Admiral Nicholas Haddock (1686 – 26 September 1746) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Commander-in-Chief of Britain's naval forces in the Mediterranean between 1738 and 1742. Despite an active and successful early and middle career, his repu ...

and

Thomas Mathews Thomas Mathews (October 16762 October 1751) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of admiral. Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the ...

, he was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in December 1744.Charnock's Biographia Navalis, v. 275 In 1746, during the

, Amherst was appointed commander of the 50-gun ''Preston'', and served as

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

to Rear-Admiral Thomas Griffin, on board the ''Princess Mary'' in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. In 1753 he commissioned the 64-gun which formed part of the fleet sent into North American waters under Vice-Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He is known principally for his various naval commands during the 18th century and the engagements ...

in 1755. On entering

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

, ''Mars'' ran aground, and was wrecked. Amherst was

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

led, but subsequently acquitted. On his return to England, was appointed to command the 50-gun , which sailed with Admiral

John Byng Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participate ...

to the Mediterranean in March 1756. In the Battle of Minorca, off Cape Mola on 20 May, the admiral ordered the ''Deptford'' to quit the

line of battle The line of battle or the battle line is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships (known as ships of the line) forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for date ...

, to be ready to assist any ship, as directed. Amherst took no part in the battle, except to assist the disabled . The following year he commanded the 64-gun during the Louisbourg Expedition, under Francis Holburne and Boscawen; and in 1761 commanded the 74-gun ship at the

capture of Belle Île The Capture of Belle Île was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British amphibious expedition to capture the Kingdom of France, French island of Belle Île off the Brittany coast in 1761, during the Seven Years' War. After an initial British attack was ...

. Afterwards, in 1762, he flew his

broad pennant A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of Commodore, or (b) a U.S. Navy ...

as senior officer at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. In 1765 he was advanced to

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

, and in 1776 was appointed

. He was still holding this command, when he died suddenly at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a pop ...

, on 14 February 1778, in his 59th year. He was buried in the parish church of

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Family

He married Anne Linzee.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amherst, John 1718 births 1778 deaths Royal Navy admirals Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War